On Friday, October 9, PATH vice president Dr. Jacqueline Sherris delivered a keynote address for Planned Parenthood’s Innovations and Generations Conference. The three-day conference for national Planned Parenthood staff and board members was hosted by Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and brought more than 150 people from around the country to Seattle.

Dr. Sherris, who oversees PATH’s global programs, conducted the address as a conversation with Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest board member Dr. Gloria Coronado. Dr. Coronado serves as chair of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest’s International Committee and is a scientist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Dr. Sherris and Dr. Coronado discussed PATH’s model for introducing sustainable, culturally relevant solutions for health and how a similar model could be applicable to Planned Parenthood’s international programs. Partnerships, including those between the public and private sectors, are key to success, Dr. Sherris said.

Drs. Sherris and Coronado also discussed PATH’s reproductive health work, including our early work in China successfully transforming the country’s reproductive health landscape to meet international standards. The conversation ended with a discussion of challenges in global reproductive health and how innovation will be critical in working to solve these difficult problems.

Dr. Sherris has a keen knowledge of and deep history in reproductive health gained from her 22-year tenure at PATH. From 2002 to 2007, as leader of PATH’s reproductive health program, she expanded PATH’s cervical cancer prevention work, including increasing access to human papillomavirus vaccines in developing countries. Other areas of reproductive health work that grew under her leadership include contraceptive supply security, pharmacists and reproductive health, technologies and interventions for women dealing with the consequences of unprotected sex, and integration of family planning and HIV and AIDS services.